Windsurfing legend Andy Laufer has discovered speed surfing for himself in his second career. Whether at home on Lake Ammer, on the French speed piste of La Franqui or in the legendary channel of Lüderitz, Laufer is always one of the fastest. For surf, he gives us a glimpse into his bag of tricks and tips for all those who want to speed surf at their home spot.
Andy, how important is the hunting ground for high speeds?
Normally, everyone knows their area like the back of their hand. For example, I know exactly where I can surf the fastest on the Ammersee. It's not all the way upwind, where the water is as shallow as possible. Funnily enough, it's exactly where the waves are highest, in the middle of Herrschinger Bucht on the east side. The winds are always shifting there, sometimes up to 30 degrees. You sail differently on most lakes than on the sea. Can I "fly over" the waves on a deep course or is it more sensible to heat through the wave troughs, as here on the Ammersee?
Other inland areas, such as the Steinhuder Meer or the Dutch spots in particular, offer perfect speed slalom conditions with relatively constant winds and flat water. There you wait for the gust, accelerate and drop further and further and make sure that you are actually always just "before take-off". In this situation, the best you can do is overtake the wind. Sometimes it even happens that the gust downwind literally "spits you out" again. If you fall off too quickly, too far, the current will tear off the sail and you will slow down again.
It always depends on the wave height. Can I cross the waves, does that make me faster? Or does it make more sense, as is the case here on the lake, to slam through the wave troughs?
So it always depends on the wave height. Can I cross the waves, does that make me faster? Or does it make more sense, as here on the lake, to slam through the wave troughs? on the Steinhuder Meer, for example, with good flat water, you can sail any course you like, you can start off completely overpowered, get the gust and can drop off deep on the beam sheet, accelerate further and further and thus let the pressure out of the sail. So you can sail at the ideal angle from a physical point of view in order to be as fast as possible. Similar to the speed channel in Lüderitz, where it is simply unimaginable how low you have to go. You can't even get down the canal below 35 knots of wind speed.
You mentioned the Steinhuder Meer as a spot because the conditions there are very good. Can this be linked to a certain wave height or is it also due to the wave spacing?
The shorter the distance, the better. In La Palme, I quickly realised that you get faster when you fly over the waves rather than over a glassy slope. If it's really flat, the board sits quite firmly in the water and you still have quite a bit of wetted surface. But if you fly across waves that are ten or 20 centimetres high, the resistance is reduced enormously. The whole thing feels like a cushion of air. A real slingshot (literally translated as slingshot. The moment when you drop sharply and accelerate to the maximum. Red.) in La Palme requires a sophisticated sailing technique, optimised equipment and a good deal of courage. You "cruise" along the beach at around 40 to 42 knots at a distance of one metre, heat up into the 50-knot squall, accelerate half-wind to 43 to 45 knots and then set off on a slingshot. Within two to three seconds you're up to over 95 km/h and that's with a half metre wave. Have fun braking out there, is all I'm saying.
Within two to three seconds you're up to over 95 km/h and that's with a half metre wave. Have fun braking out there, is all I'm saying.
Technique and tactics for speed surfing
What tips do you have for a normal surfer who wants to take part in the German Speed Battle, Sax Speed King or Speed Kini?
Most of the participants in the speed events are already having a great time anyway, whether at sea or on inland lakes! The battle at the Speed Kini is also getting tighter and tighter, especially in the top ten, with Tobi Ulrich already having to extend the times to a third decimal place. On Lake Walchensee or Lake Weissensee, for example, the speeders fly down the lakes deep on the beam. They let their boards fly perfectly over the water. I have to say that quite a few can do that. It gets difficult when the waves get even higher, when you're about to fly away. The moment before the slingshot is particularly important. You see the gust about 30 to 50 metres in front of you and drop into a fast space course. Now it's time to keep an eye out for long wave troughs here on the Ammersee. If the gust is coming from the south-west at the right angle, i.e. more from behind, I can now speed along the waves at full throttle without having to cross them. I have trimmed the sail a little flatter at the back than on the super deep courses in flat water. I can tell immediately whether it was a good or average run. The difference between 35 and 39 knots in high chop is huge. Just under 40 knots (73 km/h) on the Ammersee is wilder than 100 km/h on the canal in Lüderitz.
So the classic waiting for gusts, letting the gust come towards you from upwind, doesn't apply so much to speed surfing?
Sure, more than ever! In Lüderitz or in La Palme there are always long "traffic jams", everyone is waiting for the gust of the day, here you just have to be persistent and use the entire wind window. Otherwise you might miss THE ten minutes of the day. The faster you are travelling on a room sheet course, the softer the gust will hit your sail from behind. If you sail downwind or upwind into the gust, it is more likely to tear you apart than if you are already on a deeper course.
Is every speed session the same or do you have to differentiate between them?
The important thing is that I need to know in advance which event I want to take part in. Here at the Kini, I need the Speed Max and the 500 metres. In practice, this means that I first try to put in a good 30-second run (500 metres) and then go on a speed max hunt - around five to ten seconds full throttle with small slingshots at the end. If I'm riding by the sea and want to make an impact on the best annual ranking in the official world rankings on www.gps-speedsurfing.com, then I need the five x ten seconds. My biggest mistake at the beginning was that I always started the slingshot too quickly. You should have accelerated for at least five seconds within the gust and then give it your all again for the remaining five seconds in the slingshot.
And how does it work with the backcrossing? You've destroyed quite a bit of height, haven't you?
I have a trim system on the sail and usually do it like this: at the end of the run I'm so exhausted, especially at the end of the day, that a jibe seems impossible. A quick swim helps to relax from time to time. Then I pull the sail flat and cruise slowly back to the starting point at half throttle and wait for the next gust.
The fin is the chassis. Just like in Formula 1, this is the most important thing. There are big differences.
Speed surfing: All about equipment and trim
The course is one thing, what are your tips for the material?
The material has to be right, of course. The fin has to fit, it shouldn't be a cheap GRP fin if possible. It is the chassis, which is one of the most important things, just like in Formula 1. There are big differences, it has to suit you and your material.
How would you start? The normal hobby surfer doesn't have 20 fins to choose from and doesn't have the time to match board, sail and fin exactly. Can you perhaps name a few general characteristics by which one can recognise that a fin is perhaps too soft for the board and the sail? Or that a fin is perhaps too hard, how does this become noticeable?
If the fins are too soft, the board will fly away relatively quickly. Last year I tested with Nico Prien, his fins are buttery soft, mine are relatively hard. Everyone could only go really fast with their own fins. The best thing is to get a suitable fin from a worldcupper, they always have some for sale. In any case, it is important that a fin is very torsionally stiff at the top. Of course, I first need the right length. Almost all worldcuppers/speeders use the following sizes: 45 centimetres big slalom, 37 centimetres medium board, 32 centimetres highwind board and 21 centimetres speedboard. If a fin works well, the board stays exactly in the position you want it to be in. When the gust comes, it just goes forwards instead of dancing around wildly. The differences are enormous, I would never have thought that.
So the old rule that hard fins tend to make the board do a wheelie no longer applies?
No, that's no longer true, on the contrary. A harder fin tends to keep the board more in the water.
Do you have any tips for people who have an average fin in their slalom board and want to upgrade it a bit? What can you look out for?
You should make sure that they are from a reputable manufacturer, such as Carpenter, NoLo (Lorch), Z-Fins, or C-Fins, to name just a few. Some brands print the hardness grade on the fins: S means soft, S- is a bit softer than soft, and S-- is really soft. There are big differences, and even an ambitious hobby surfer will notice them.
Leaving the fins aside, what other adjustments can be made to the material?
I usually use one sail size more than a slalom sailor. This usually makes jibing a challenge, as I am far too overpowered. This means that the sail has to be tuned in such a way that you can barely ride it. The differences are even greater in the speed area. In most cases, you can only control your equipment if you have a lot of lead on your back. This is where the half-turn ride turns into a fun rodeo. There's so much pressure at the back of the boom that you release it via your Slingshot! It's so much fun! Because you are always riding so extremely overpowered, the boom should also be lowered quite a bit. Never too high, otherwise you'll fly away! I ride it at chest height, so really low down. With 8.2 and 9.0 I can ride a bit higher, but from 7.8 with the medium board it's really just a matter of control, full throttle overpowered, bum out and boom down!
It's often the little things that make a huge difference - it's so much fun to find out!
If the boom is so low, do you make the ropes a little shorter or do you still ride them long and try to compensate with your posture?
At 9.0 and 8.2 I already sail them a bit shorter, around 28, and then I actually get longer and longer the smaller the sail. But be careful. If I'm sailing in a speed or speed slalom area, I always make the ropes shorter, around 28 inches. You're faster when they're a bit shorter. As soon as you have longer ropes, you have more control in the waves. And control is actually the most important thing here on the Ammersee.
So your tip is to work with vario harness lines and adjust the lengths?
That's right! When I'm travelling in La Palme or Büsum, I use shorter harness lines. Preferably with a weight waistcoat, which works much better. The board is much more stable, the sail is more upright and you can cope with even more wind. If you want to reach 45+ knots, you should definitely work with weight, as it also provides impact protection. Decathlon offers an inexpensive impact waistcoat with pockets for lead, called "Sideon", which works perfectly. You should pack between three and eight kilograms. Please make sure that the waistcoat including the weights still floats. It is best to get flexible lead and cut it to size.
What about the sail trim again? What else is there to consider here?
Here on the Ammersee I trim my sail quite normally, so that the sail doesn't touch the boom. However, as soon as the lake allows for deeper courses, I try to make the sail a little more bulbous.
Does that mean you leave it completely attached to the leeward spar?
Yes, at least the sail touches my boom lightly. In Lüderitz, the sail lies completely against the boom. That's actually a problem because the profile is affected by the sail. I've always wanted to develop an asymmetric boom that is a bit more bulbous on the leeward side than on the windward side, so that you can sail even lower.
Does that mean a lot of luff tension, because you are travelling in the overpower range, and then with relatively little tension on the boom?
I almost always do the luff the same way. Too much luff tension is also not good, then you have too much lift, otherwise the entry of the sail on the camber becomes too flat, which is also not good, especially if you are overpowered. You then have so much pressure at the back. You have to be a bit careful.
Does it make sense to buy a speedneedle or is a small slalom board also sufficient?
A speedboard is only really worthwhile if it is really flat and has a good 30 knots. Below that, you can actually forget about it.
Do you have any tips for base plate and loop position?
I actually always ride it the same way as when slaloming. My little insider tip is to make the rear loop a little bigger when speed skiing than when slaloming. This gives you more control on a deep space course. I can control the board better in the slingshots and steer it with my toes. This allows you to let it fly better over the leeward edge.
Are you already riding relatively narrow at the front so that only your toes are sticking out?
No, also very large at the front, but narrow so that I have lateral support and the foot is relatively far inside. I ride the base plate as normal, roughly in the centre. If the board rises a little too much for me and I already have the boom down, I can also move the base plate forwards by a centimetre or two.
Is there anything else we should have on our radar?
You have to familiarise yourself first, then you have to know where and how the waves run, how the gusts fall, every day is different. You will notice that you get faster with every run. Try to trim the sail as bellied as possible. The deeper the course, the more bulbous the sail. It's often the little things that make a big difference. Sometimes it's just the boom height. If the board tends to fly away, I lower the boom by 0.5 centimetres. If I have the feeling that everything still feels super easy and I have to lift the board out of the water too much with my front foot, I raise the boom by a few millimetres.
The right GPS technology for speed surfing
Now I have the right equipment, have optimised it, have trained the technique and would now like to measure and upload my times. What do I need to know about GPS watches?
The measuring devices must be suitable. The Doppler devices from Motion GPS, Locosys GW-60 or GT-31, for example, are approved. Other gauges such as Suunto or Garmin are terribly inaccurate. Incorrect measurements of +-5 knots are not uncommon. In the past, some speeders have presented their insane speeds on their social media channels. It was only after they switched to one of the measuring devices mentioned above that they were brought back down to earth. Even speeds of over 40 knots on the waveboard have been posted.
In the following series of pictures you can see a typical speed run in La Franqui:
This article first appeared in surf 6/2021
